Listed below is the high level evidence on Safe Prescribing produced by NICE, SIGN and NHS based organisations. Also included are the European Society guidelines where available. This list is produced and maintained by HEFT Library Services to support VITAL for Doctors core skills programme developed in the Trust.
HEFT Local Policies
Policy for the safe prescribing, handling and administration of anti-cancer agents V2.0
Julie Bliss CNS Oncology Rebecca Pitt CNS Oncology Lynda Baker, CNS Haematology
Date: 3rd January 2011. Next Review Date: 31st August 2013
Policy for Non Medical Prescribing
HEFT NMP Steering Group Date: 17th December 2012. Next Review Date: 31st October 2014
NICE Guidelines and Pathways
NICE- Medicines and Prescribing, May 2013
A single competency framework for all prescribers
National Prescribing Centre –Provided by NICE, May 2012
NICE-CG76, 2009
Other National (includes Professional Bodies/Associations) and non-UK Guidelines (within the EU)
Good practice in prescribing and managing medicines and devices
General Medical Council, February 2013
Safety Monitoring of Medicines
European Medicines Agency, 2013
Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health, 2011
Professional standards and guidance for pharmacist prescribers
Pharmaceutical Society of Northern Ireland, June 2009
Standards for Medicines Management
Nursing and Midwifery Council, 2007
Guidance for Nurse Independent Prescribers
NHS Scotland, September 2006
Safety, quality, efficacy: regulating medicines in the UK
National Audit Office 2003
Systematic Reviews – Cochrane Library
Health Technology Assessment, 2007
NHS Evidence
Medical Protection Society, April 2013
Routledge PA. 2012. Safe prescribing: a titanic challenge.British Journal of Clinical Pharmacology, 74(4), 676-84.:
Abstract: The challenge to achieve safe prescribing merits the adjective 'titanic'. The organisational and human errors leading to poor prescribing (e.g. underprescribing, overprescribing, mis-prescribing or medication errors) have parallels in the organisational and human errors that led to the loss of the Titanic 100 years ago this year. Prescribing can be adversely affected by communication failures, critical conditions, complacency, corner cutting, callowness and a lack of courage of conviction, all of which were also factors leading to the Titanic tragedy. These issues need to be addressed by a commitment to excellence, the final component of the 'Seven C's'. Optimal prescribing is dependent upon close communication and collaborative working between highly trained health professionals, whose role is to ensure maximum clinical effectiveness, whilst also protecting their patients from avoidable harm. Since humans are prone to error, and the environments in which they work are imperfect, it is not surprising that medication errors are common, occurring more often during the prescribing stage than during dispensing or administration. A commitment to excellence in prescribing includes a continued focus on lifelong learning (including interprofessional learning) in pharmacology and therapeutics. This should be accompanied by improvements in the clinical working environment of prescribers, and the encouragement of a strong safety culture (including reporting of adverse incidents as well as suspected adverse drug reactions whenever appropriate). Finally, members of the clinical team must be prepared to challenge each other, when necessary, to ensure that prescribing combines the highest likelihood of benefit with the lowest potential for harm.
Further information:
The following sources have been searched for evidence published in the previous 12 months: HEFT Local Policies, NHS Evidence, Nursing and Midwifery Council, NICE –Medicines and Prescribing, SIGN, European Medicines Agency, General Medical Council and Cochrane Library.
Please contact [email protected] for any further information.
For more information on how to make the most use of the HEFT Library Services, visit www.heftlibrary.nhs.uk. Visit NHS Evidence www.evidence.nhs.uk to access your guidelines, Cochrane systematic reviews, journals and databases.